On 19 July 2010, prior to the 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem jointly presided over the Ceremony to Exchange Instruments of Ratification of the Treaty between Thailand and Vietnam on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and on Cooperation in the Enforcement of Penal Sentences, which was jointly signed by the Thai Minister of Justice and the Vietnamese Minister of Public Security on 3 March 2010 in Bangkok.
In this regard, Thailand is the first country with which Viet Nam has concluded such treaties. Under the Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, those who have already served a period of imprisonment are able to be transferred to their own country to serve their remaining sentence and to reintegrate themselves into their own society after the end of their sentence. Furthermore, the Treaty will pave the ways towards closer cooperation on judicial matters.
Prior to the Ceremony, Foreign Minister Kasit held a short bilateral meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart. The Vietnamese side welcomed the return to normalcy following the recent political unrest in Thailand and wished the Kingdoms success in moving forward with the reconciliation plan. In this connection, Foreign Minister Kasit thanked the Government and people of Viet Nam for their support and understanding, as well as for the ASEAN Chairman Statement on the situation in Thailand. Additionally, Foreign Minister Kasit congratulated his Vietnamese counterpart on the 1000th Anniversary of the establishment of Ha Noi city and successful convening of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Ha Noi in June 2010 as well as its participation in the G-20 Summit on behalf of ASEAN.
Later in the day, Foreign Minister Kasit met with a group of students from Thai high schools taking part in this year’s Exchange Programme. Organized by the Royal Thai Embassy in Ha Noi, these students came from throughout the Kingdom to visit Viet Nam during 8-20 July to meet Vietnamese youths. Last year, the Royal Thai Embassy invited Vietnamese youths to visit Thailand, staying with families throughout the Kingdom. This Programme is part of Thailand’s efforts to promote closer people-to-people contacts between both countries.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th